Wan Azizah, who had received flak for saying the marriage was established by mutual consent, said according to the report, the union was sanctioned by the Tumpat Shariah Court in Kelantan.

“I wish to reiterate that I am against child marriage and do not condone it. The best interest of the child must always be considered.

“What I said was just a descriptive statement of what the child explained to my officers,” she said in a statement.

News of the girl’s marriage which took place in July with the consent of the shariah court came three months after the uproar caused by another underage marriage, in which a 41-year-old rubber tapper, also in Kelantan, took an 11-year-old girl as his third wife.

Wan Azizah, who is also women, family and community development minister, said in July that the government would amend the laws to raise the marriageable age for girls from 16 to 18.

In her statement today, she reiterated the pledge, adding that marriage should not be used as a way out of poverty.

She said she had chaired a meeting with the relevant stakeholders on Sept 13, during which several agreements were made.

These included for the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) and the women, family and community development ministry to prepare a paper to raise the minimum age of marriage for Muslims.

“The paper will then be presented to the Meeting of Menteris Besar and Chief Ministers to garner support from the states to raise the legal minimum age,” she said.

She said a Cabinet paper was also being prepared to raise the minimum age of marriage to 18 for non-Muslims, while for customary marriages, the respective heads would be informed of the dangers of underage marriages to the health and safety of the child.

“Amending the law takes time,” she added. “While waiting for that to take place, the ministry will meet the Shariah Judiciary Department on stricter and more thorough guidelines for shariah court judges in approving child marriages.”

Wan Azizah said she had also spoken to the minister in charge of religious affairs, Mujahid Yusof Rawa, as well as law minister Liew Vui Keong, to address the loopholes and inconsistencies between shariah and civil laws on the matter.

“I have also instructed my officers to examine current laws to ensure the welfare of children is taken care of.

“The protection and rights of children is of paramount importance to me and I will not compromise on that matter.”